Quorum sensing in Acinetobacter: an emerging pathogen

Crit Rev Microbiol. 2010 Nov;36(4):349-60. doi: 10.3109/1040841X.2010.512269.

Abstract

Acinetobacter is emerging as one of the major nosocomial infectious pathogens, facilitated by tolerance to desiccation and multidrug resistance. Quorum sensing (autoinducer-receptor mechanism) plays role in biofilm formation in Acinetobacter, though its role in regulation of other virulence factors is yet to be established. Phylogenetic studies indicate that Acinetobacter baumannii is closely related to Burkholderia ambifaria but its quorum sensing genes (abaI and abaR) were acquired horizontally from Halothiobacillus neapolitanus. The prospects of quorum quenching to control the infections caused by Acinetobacter have also been discussed.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Acinetobacter Infections / drug therapy
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / genetics*
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / metabolism
  • Acinetobacter baumannii / pathogenicity*
  • Acyl-Butyrolactones / metabolism
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Biofilms
  • Cross Infection / drug therapy
  • Cross Infection / microbiology
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phylogeny
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Quorum Sensing / genetics*
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Virulence Factors / genetics
  • Virulence Factors / metabolism

Substances

  • Acyl-Butyrolactones
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Virulence Factors